My evening skincare is the start of my relaxation ready for bed. I like to take my time and enjoy the experience. This is not just confined to the skincare on my face, my evening routine takes care of my whole body. I moisturise my entire body head to toe, if my skin is feeling particularly dry I will layer a body oil under the body lotion. My current favourite body oil is Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. I still suffer with a little back acne so a few nights a week I like to apply salicylic acid to my back. I have some post inflammatory hyperpigmentation on my body from a skin condition and I use The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% on these areas. My evening body skincare routine finishes just as I'm getting into bed when I slather my feet in foot cream and apply hand cream. I hate the feeling of walking around with foot cream on so I find that this is the best time for me to apply it.
Basic Routine Plan
My evening skincare routine is when I like to get most of my treatment products in. First I start with a double cleanse. I like to use a balm or oil cleanser to remove any makeup and SPf on my skin and then I like to go in with a foaming or milky cleanser. Currently I am loving the Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm and Foaming Cleanser for my evening double cleanse. After this I generally like to go straight in with an exfoliating acid toner (there are times when this step is missed, more on this later). I like to rotate between an AHA, BHA, and PHA exfoliating product. My current rotation is Omorovica Silver Skin Tonic, Ole Henricksen Dark Spot Toner, and Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA + BHA Pore-Tight Toner. Then comes facial mists. I love a good hydrating facial mist and my current go toe are the Omorovica Queen of Hungary Mist or the La Roche-Posay Serozinc. After facial mist comes my treatment step. I don't like to layer too many treatments and I switch up my treatment step daily depending on how my skin is feeling. The treatments that I use in this stage include additional hydration treatments, ceramide boosting treatments, chemical exfoliation serums (in this case I skip the exfoliating acid toner), niacinamide, and I will sometimes use vitamin C in the evening as well as the morning. My current favourite treatment steps are the L'oreal Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Elizabeth Arden capsules (Hyaluronic, Ceramide, Vitamin C, and Retinol), Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Drunk Elephant T.L.C Framboos Night Serum, and The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 2%. My last step before moisturiser is facial oil which I find helps to keep my skin hydrated over night. Currently I am trying both Omorovicza Miracle Facial Oil and Wishful Get Even Rose Oil. I then follow with an eye cream and moisturiser. At night I like to use a retinol eye cream as I have noticed a reduction in my dark circles and some of my milia have gone. My favourite retinol eye cream is the Glow Recipe Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Sleeping Mask. At night I like to use a heavier more occlusive moisturiser than the morning to keep my skin hydrated throughout the night and prevent trans epidermal water loss. Currently I am really enjoying Wishful Honey Balm Jelly Moisturiser.
Retinol Routine
I like to use a retinol two to three times a week. When I use a retinol product I cut the rest of my routine back because retinol can be irritating and does not mix well with other skincare ingredients. When using retinol I skip the acid exfoliation stage and use a facial mist right after cleansing. I then let my skin dry for a few minutes as retinol should not be applied to damp skin. After the retinol product I like to go in with a hydrating serum and then my moisturiser and eye cream. My current retinol product rotation is Drunk Elephant A Passioni and No7 Advanced Retinol 1.5% complex.
Compromised/Irritated skin?
So far you are probably thinking my evening skincare sounds a little irritation inducing! A few nights a week and/if my skin is ever feeling irritated or compromised I scale my routine back to focus on hydrating and repairing my skin barrier. This means focusing on ingredients such as glycerine, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and ceramics that help support and repair the skin barrier and sooth the skin. When irritation happens I reach for my Elizabeth Arden Ceramide and Hyaluronic Acid Capsules, The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 2%, and L'oreal hyaluronic acid serum and ampoules.
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